Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung has described 2014 as a successful year for the relationship between Vietnam and Japan since the two countries elevated their ties to an extensive strategic partnership.

In the year, the bilateral cooperation in various fields from politics, national defence, and security to economics, culture and education have produced substantial outcomes, Ambassador Hung told the Vietnam News Agency correspondents on the threshold of the Lunar New Year – the Year of the Goat.

The two-way trade has increased remarkably in recent years, which topped US$28 billion in 2014 and Japanese investment in Vietnam is also on the rise, the diplomat said, adding that new development was also seen in other fields such as tourism, labour and education.

Agriculture cooperation was a highlight of the year just gone. After the Japan visit by President Truong Tan Sang in March, a series of collaboration activities in the field have been carried out, he said, citing as an example visits of several Japanese localities to the Mekong Delta – the largest granary of Vietnam , to study possibilities of agriculture collaboration.

The Ambassador also took note of the good pace of major cooperative projects, with several key projects having been completed in recent time such as the T2 terminal at the Hanoi ’s Noi Bai International Airport, Nhat Tan bridge, and the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway.

He expressed his belief in the bright prospect for Vietnam-Japan relations in 2015 and the following years, which will be reinforced via high-level delegation visits and people-to-people exchanges.

The number of Vietnamese people living and working in Japan has doubled that of three years ago, who actively contribute to the development of the two countries’ relations, especially forging ties among businesses and localities, he said.